A wave of public and industry controversy has erupted across the Serbian cultural and political landscape following confirmations that production has concluded on a new, high-profile hybrid docudrama centering on the legal battles of ultra-nationalist politician and convicted war criminal Vojislav Šešelj.
The film, reportedly titled “Kako sam pobedio Hag” (How I Defeated The Hague), has drawn sharp focus not only for its revisionist framing of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) but also for its casting choice. Branislav Lečić, a prominent veteran actor and former Serbian Minister of Culture, has officially confirmed that he portrays the leader of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS).
Production Background and Structure
The project was quietly developed under an anonymous production team—reportedly based out of Banja Luka—and is heavily speculated to have received substantial logistical or financial backing from domestic state avenues.
Lečić recently addressed the production during an appearance on a regional podcast, expressing that he was initially taken aback when approached for the role, but found the structural blend of the script compelling.
┌── Documentary Material (Archival courtroom broadcasts & public records)
PROJECT STRUCTURE ─┼── Scripted Re-enactments (Dramatized depictions of Scheveningen prison life)
└── Political Ideology (Focus on Šešelj's structural confrontation with the ICTY)
Šešelj, who surrendered to the ICTY in 2003, spent nearly twelve years in detention at the Scheveningen facility before being released on health grounds in 2014. In 2018, the Appeals Chamber of the mechanism convicted him in absentia to ten years imprisonment for crimes against humanity regarding the persecution and deportation of Croats from Hrtkovci, Vojvodina, a sentence deemed already served due to his lengthy pre-trial detention.
Deepening Polarization and Industry Blowback
The announcement has triggered a severe rift among local artists, human rights advocates, and political analysts, who have split cleanly down lines of artistic liberty versus historical revisionism. Critics view the docudrama as a calculated state-sanctioned propaganda tool designed to glorify the foundation of modern radical ideology in Serbia.
“This is the confirmation that we are living through a deeply perverse social experiment. A highly malignant political figure who has choked normal public discourse for decades is now receiving a cinematic monument. In a society where such a figure serves as a moral and political blueprint for the current ruling structure, this glorification is sadly logical.”
— Aida Ćorović, Human Rights Activist
Within the media sphere, commentators have explicitly noted the stark contrast between Lečić’s democratic, anti-regime past in the 1990s—when he stood at the forefront of liberal opposition movements—and his contemporary positioning. Prominent cultural figures have drawn comparisons to Kevin Spacey’s widely panned portrayal of former Croatian President Franjo Tuđman, labeling Lečić’s transition as a defining low point in his artistic trajectory.
The “Radical Backstory” and Modern Alignment
Political columnists, including Peščanik’s Ljubodrag Stojadinović, suggest the film marks a significant cultural milestone in tracing the evolutionary arc of Serbia’s current leadership. Šešelj is widely regarded as the political architect who directly shaped and mentored the current echelons of state power, who broke away from the SRS in 2008 to form the now-ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
| Perspective | Core Rationale |
| Pro-Production / Supporters | Assert that Šešelj’s dynamic legal self-defense, his defiance of Western judicial standards, and his eventual release represent a genuine legal victory worthy of cinematic documentation. |
| Industry Critics / Opposition | Argue the project is an attempt to whitewash documented wartime rhetoric, using co-opted cultural figures to bolster nationalist voter blocks ahead of future electoral cycles. |
As post-production winds down, an official premiere date has not yet been announced. The theatrical release of “Kako sam pobedio Hag” is expected to serve as a major flashpoint for regional diplomatic tensions, highlighting the unresolved legacy of ICTY trials and the role of state-aligned media structures in reshaping historical narratives across the Western Balkans.
